Lubricating oils and method of producing same



1940- J. M. WHITELEY, JR, EFAL 2,220,307

LUBRICATING' OILS AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Filed Dec. 7, 1937 2Sheets-Sheet 1 1940- J; M. WHITELEY, JR., arm. ,307

LUBRICATING OILS AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Filed Dec. 7,,1937 2Sheets-Sheet 2 i H .Dl-ISOBUTYAENE. mm 4 2 .BORON 0 OR 122 Patented Nov5, 1940 LUBBICATING OILS AND DIETHOD 0! PRO- DUGING SAME James M.Whiteley, Jr., Elizabeth, and Jeffrey H. Bartlett, Cranford, N. 1.,assignors to Standard Oil Development Company, a corporation of-Delaware Application December I, 1937, Serial No. 178,440 8 Claims. (01.196-10) This invention relates to novel lubricating oils and novelmethods of preparing same. Broadly the invention comprises preparinglubricating oils by feeding a normallygaseous olefin, particularlyisobutylene, into a normally liquid reactive hydrocarbon diluentparticularly of the oleflnic type, having from 6 to 24 carbon atoms,.into which liquid a Friedel-Crafts type catalyst, such as boronfluoride or aluminum- 10 chloride, has been dispersed as uniformly aspos-- sible, i. e. by solution or suspension, the reaction being carriedout at approximately 0150- F.,

preferably 40-80 F., wherebya substantial proportion of the normallygaseous olefin polymerizes while'another substantial proportion thereofreacts or condenses with the normally reactive hydrocarbon diluent toproduce large yields of lubricating oil having high viscosity index (lowchange of viscosity with change in temperature) and having a Sayboltviscosity of from about 40 seconds to 400 seconds at 210 F. andpreferably from 40 to 200 seconds at 210 F.

Heretofore many processes have been proposed for polymerization ofolefins or for reacting olefins with other materials to make varioustypes of products and also many processes have been proposedspecifically for making lubricating oils.

However, most of these prior art processes have either been attendedwith various operating difliculties or have not been practicalfrom aneconomical point of view or do not produce the desired type oflubricating oil. For instance, it'is known that isobutylene, forexample, can be polymerized at very low temperature, e. g. from -10 C.to 50 C. or lower, to substantially solid polymers having a molecularweight greater than 1000 or 2000 and possibly as high as 100,000 ormore,

using boron fluoride as catalyst; and it is also known that isobutylenecan be readily poly- 40 merized to dimer, trimer and other low molecularweight polymers by reacting at somewhat elevated temperatures, e. g.100-300 or 400 F. (about 40-200 0.). It is also known that lubricatingoils are produced by passing oleflns such as ethylene, propylene,butylenes and amylenes into a hydrocarbon liquid such as petroleum ethercontaining aluminum chloride suspended therein. Compared to the lastmentioned process, the present invention has a great advantage inproducing a substantially larger yield of product of the desiredviscosity range and besides makes an oil having substantiallyimprovedproperties. For instance, by feeding isobutylene into a solution ofboron fluoride in di-isobutylene at temperatures between about 30 and F.according to the present invention, oils are produced having, Sayboltviscosity limits between about 35 or-40 up to 200 or 300 seconds at 210F., whereas by using the same temperature range but reversing the orderof adding ingredients, namely by feed- 5 I ing boron fluoride into asolution of isobutylene in di-isobutylene, products are made which havean extremely wide range of viscosity, some of the products averaging aSaybolt viscosity of 600 or 700 seconds at 210 F., some averaging 3000sec- 10 onds at 210 F., and some covering limits as wide as 42 secondsfor the lowest boiling constituents and 14,000 seconds at 210 F. for thehighest boiling fractions.

The preferred procedure of the present inven- 15 tion has the advantagethat in, order to produce an oil having a certain desired viscosity at'210 F. and a certain desired viscosity index, an oil is produced havinga higher flash than is obtained 'when'the process is carried out underconditions 9) resulting in the producthaving a wide range of viscosity.In other words, the products having a relatively narrow viscosity rangeas produced by the preferred process of the present invention, havehigher flash points than the wide viscosity range oils produced by otherprocesses.

In carrying out the reaction (polymerization and/or condensation) ofoleflns such as iso-,

butylene with a reactive liquid hydrocarbon diluent such asdi-isobutylene in the presence of a a catalyst such as boron fluoride, aprimary feature of the invention is the particular order of combiningthe raw materials because it has been found, for example, that feedingisobutylene into a solution of boron fluoride in di-isobutylene givessurprisingly better results than feeding boron fluoride into a solutionof isobutylenein di-isobutylene even though substantially the samereaction conditions and proportions of materials are used in bothcases.A still further advantage of this process lies in the ease ofcontrolling the reaction as compared to the considerable fluctuations intemperatures when the catalyst is added to the solution of isobutylenein di-isobutylene.

The normally gaseous olefin which is the 1211- 5 mary reactant accordingto the present invention is preferably isobutylen'e although otheroleflns such as ethylene, propylene, normal butylenes and amylenes maybe' used. Isoolefins such as isobutylene or iso-amylene apparently arepeculiarly 5 adapted to produce the desired combination-ofpolymerization and co-polymerization. They lead to larger yilds andsuperiorproducts than-are obtained with other normally gaseous oleflns.Although from an economical point of view it may 5 be preferred to usethe isobutylene (or other normally gaseous oleflns) in the gaseousstate, it-is possible to use them also in a liquid state by using asufficient amount of pressure under the temperature of operation. Also,instead of using any particular single olefln, it is possible to usemixtures of several normally gaseous olefins or one or more of theseoleflns mixed with an inert diluent such as one or more of the normallygaseous paraifins having from 1 to 5 carbon atoms, such as methane,butane, etc. or other inert gases such as nitrogen or hydrogen.

. It is preferred to use di-isobutylene, tri-iso-' butylene or otherpolymers thereof up through the hexamer, because they are apparentlypeculiarly adapted to react with the isobutylene or present invention isnot entirely understood, it v is believed that having the catalyst suchas boron fluoride dissolved or suspended in this reactive hydrocarbonliquid diluent before adding the isobutylene, accomplishessimultaneously several advantageous results including that it permitsclose temperature control and thereby makes possible the production ofan oil having a relatively narrow viscosity spread, and-it facilitatesthe desired polymerization of the iso-butylene to the lubricating oiltype of product rather than to either low polymers such as dimer andtrimer or the very much higher substantially solid polymers such asthose havingmolecular weights from several thousand up to 100,000. Italso permits carrying out the reaction at temperatures such as 60 F.without the use of pressure (if, on the other hand, boron fluoride wereto be fed into a solution of isobutylene in di-isobutylene at 60 F., thereaction chamber would have to be kept under a sufficient pressure tokeep the isobutylene in the liquid phase). The lower polymers,especially dimer, trimer, etc. of isobutylene have been found to beespecially good solvents for boron fluoride, approximately 1.0% byweight being soluble as compared to about 0.1% by weight soluble in asaturated hydrocarbon such as iso-octane at atmospheric pressure.

. Boron fluoride is the preferred catalyst for the reactions involved inthe present invention because it actually dissolves to a suitable extentin the di-isobutylene or other reaction liquid being used as diluent,instead of merely being suspended therein in a flnely divided solidcondition. However, other Friedel-Crafts type catalysts may be used suchas aluminum chloride, titanium tetrachloride or modified catalysts'suchas boron fluoride dissolved in water or in acids such as sulfuric,phosphoric, etc.

The process may be carried out in-separate batches but is preferablycarried out in a continuous process as will be described more fullylater. In any case, when the polymerization and condensation orco-polymerization have been carried out to the desired extent for whicha reaction time varying from a few minutes to 4 or 10 hours may be used,the product is preferably treated first to separate the catalyst such asby water washing or by distilling off the boron fluoride at atemperature of 200 F., or lower ifpartial vacuum is used, and then theproduct is subjected to distillation or fractionation in order to removeany light polymers or unreacted raw material having not more than 24carbon atoms or having a molecular weight not more than about 300 or325, or in other words, itis desired to recycle any product having aviscosity less than about 40 seconds Saybolt at 210 F. This separationmay be effected by distilling or fractionating at a temperature of about400-500 F.

at atmospheric pressure with steam or'by using a temperature up to about300 F. at 5 mm. pressure. i

The residual product having a viscosity greater than 40 seconds Sayboltat 210 F. may, if desired, be separated by fractionation into a lightlubricating oil blending stock having a viscosity of 40 to 100 secondsSaybolt at 210 F.- and a heavy lubricating oil blending stock having aviscosity of 100 to 200 seconds Saybolt at 210 F. Although even somewhathigher viscosity products such as those having.a Saybolt viscosity of upto 400 to'500 seconds at 210 F. may be used in motor oils by blendingthem with considerably lower viscosity stocks, it is preferred toregulate the operating conditions so that relatively little product willbe made outside the.

limits of 40 and 200 seconds Saybolt at 210 F. In carrying out thereaction, the temperature is preferably controlled within relativelynarrow limits and this may be done by several methods' one is bycontrolling the rate of the addition of the normally gaseous olefin andthe other is by the use of cooling means, such as cooling coils (eitherinside or outside the reaction vessel), or the desired reactiontemperature may be maintained by using some liquefied, normally gaseousmaterial (either one of the reactants or some inert diluent) in theliquid .phase by maintaining the reaction vessel under suitable elevatedpressure and then releasing some of the pressure if and when desired tocoolthe reaction liquid, thecooling being effected by absorption of thelatent heat of evaporation of the liquefied, normally gaseous material.

Various types of equipment may be-used in carrying out this invention,but for the sake of illustration suitable equipment will be describedfor carrying out the process, either by batch or continuously.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic sketch of suitable equipment for batchoperation which may, if desired, also be used for continuous operation.

Fig. 2 illustrates an improved and more detailed layout for a continuouscyclic process.

Referringto Fig. .1, boron fluoride is fed in through inlet and admixedwith di-isobutylene being fed in through inlet, 2 and the resultingsolution passing through pipe 3 is met by isobutylene being fed inthrough inlet 4. The remay also be removed by water washing the productleaving the cooling coil 6, .or traces of boron fluoride may be washedfrom the product leaving v 2,21 20,30: still a. The residue in $11 awhich is maintained at a suitable temperature, such as about 200 F.,passes through line I! into another still or fractionating column l3maintained'at about 400 or 500' F. at atmospheric pressure or up to 300F. under vacuum mm.'pressure). .From here, any unreacted,di-isobutylene, together with light polymers having a Saybolt viscosityless than about 40 seconds at 210 F., is taken off overhead through linel4 and, if desired, may be recirculated through line l5 into originaldiisobutylene inlet 2. .The bottoms taken of! from still l3 constitutethe lubricating oil product having a Saybolt viscosity above 40 secondsat 210 F. and, if desired, may be further fractionated by suitableequipment not shown into light and heavy lubricating oil blendingstocks.

Referring to Fig. 2, which represents a continuouscyclic process inwhich only a portion of the product is drawn off and separated. whilethe remaining portion of the product is recycled, boron fluoride is fedfrom a suitable source l8 through line I, which is preferably providedwith a suitable pressure controlling device, such as mercury seal ll,traps l8 and I9 and meter 20, into the upper part of coiled line 6v andthe reactive hydrocarbon liquid diluent, such as diisobutylene, is fedfrom a suitable source 2| through inlet 2 into the upper part of thesame coiled line 8. through the coiled line 6 descends through line 22through pump 23 and is met by isobutylene being fed from a suitablesource 24 through line 4, which is preferably provided with calciumchloride drier 25, caustic soda drier 26, safety valve 21, pressuregauge 28 and manometer 29. The isobutylene from line 4 meets thesolution of boron fluoride in di-isobutylenecoming through line 22 andthe reaction starts in line 5, the reaction liquid then passing upwardinto the coiled line 6 which is being cooled by a suitable bath mixture30 such as alcohol to which solid carbon dioxide is added. Thetemperature of the liquids at various stages throughout this cyclicequipment may be observed by having the thermometers 3|, 32 and 33placed at proper points in the equipment as indicated. Part of thereaction products being discharged from overflow 34 pass through line 35into a suitable washing chamber 36 into which water is fed through line31 and from which some boron fluoride catalyst escapes through line 38and may be recycled into line la for reuse. Any excess boron fluoridethat is forced through the mercury of seal l1 into line la, joints therecovered boron'fluoride from line 38. The washed lubricating oilproduct is dischargedthrough line 38 and may, if de-- sired, be furthertreated, as by fractionation, etc., by suitable equipment not shown. Anylow molecular weight polymers below lubricating oil in boiling range and'viscosity may be recovered I from the product and returned to diluentsupply cycling is carried out at the proper rate and thetank 2| and tothe system through line 2.

In operating this cyclic equipment shown in Fig. 2 and describedhereinabove, when the reraw materials are fed at the proper rate and thedesired equilibrium has been established, the temperature differencebetween any of the three thermometers 3|, 32 and 33 should not exceedThe bulk of the liquid rising Also the temperature to be used will varysomewhat according to the raw material being used; for example, withplant isobutylene (a crude commercial stock of isobutylene) whichgenerall'y contains small amounts of normal butenes as well as 'a smallamount of butanes, it is best to use a -reaction temperature of. about40 F. whereas with a specially refractio'nated isobutylene, in otherwords, a practically pure isobutylene, the reaction temperature shouldbe some what higher, e. g. about'65 1". Commercial supplies ofisobutylene may be obtained by separation (by distillation orabsorption, etc.) from the socalled 04 cut 'from petroleum refineries.The

separation of it may be obtained by cracking diisobutylene (readilyprepared from a C4 cut by,

treating with sulfuric acid) or bydehydrating iso-butyl or tertiarybutyl alcohol or may also be prepared by dehydrogenation of iso-butane.

In addition 'to the reactive hydrocarbon diluents mentioned previously,one may also use a cracked -wax distillate boiling below the range ofhydrocarbons having a Saybolt viscosity below 40 seconds at 210 F. IAnother suitable stock is alight polymer oil obtained by thepolymerization' of isobutylene up. to a Saybolt viscosity of 63 secondsat 100 F. which is only slightly heavier than a mineral seal oil stock.

The proportion of the raw materials may vary considerably according tothe nature of the materials used, the reaction conditions such astemsome circumstances, however, to use considerablylarger amounts, e; g.up to 5 or 10% or more, particularly with'some of the other lesseffective catalysts and when other reaction conditions are varied so asto-require larger amounts of catalyst.

If the isobutylene is fed in at a high or fast rate, the yield of oil ofthe desired boiling range, e. g. 40 to 200 seconds Saybolt'viscosityat210 F.,

decreases and also the viscosity at 100 F. is increased whereas if therate of addition of isobutylene is slow, a more uniform product isproduced, i. e. having a narrower viscosity'range (from the low to highboiling constituents) and the yield of oil is increased due to muchgreater co-polymerization. The slow rate of adding isobutylene ispreferred. This means that in the continuous recycling process a highrate of circulation of the BFadi-isobutylene solution should be used,and a relatively small proportion of isobutylene compound to the amountof circulated material should be fed into the system.

Agitation also is a factor .to be considered in that good agitationtends to cause more copolymerization and produces a product having anarrower viscosity spread. In the'continu'ous system this agitation isobtained by a high rate of flow through the coil.

Some examples of detailed operating ,condi-. tions and products aregiven in the following experimental data which are submitted forillustration only and not intended to limit the invention specificallythereto.

TABLE I treated polymer, namely 230 F., is reduced to 120 F. in thetreated polymer. Likewise, the and overhead points were all reducedin-the treated polymer.

Apparently, in carrying out the presentinvention, particularly in thecontinuous recycling process, a number'of various reactions tend to cometo equilibrium and the exact nature of this equilibrium will depend uponthe operating conditions, such as the temperature, proportions 01.

Comparison of inert and reactive diluents Tm D t f g 2; Oil boilingasbove 450 F. with U011 ran Inna m I No. isobutylene Tune m Yieldvis./210 F, v. I.

. Hour: "F. -Perunt 1 250 gm. n-beptane 548 4 05 32 85 53 2 250 gm. 63vis./100 F. polymer 585 4 4B 92 53 The above Table I shows that-underidentical reaction conditions (e. g. time and temperature) in the sameapparatus and using substantially identical proportions of materials(diluent and isobutylene), the reactive diluent, namely, the 63 vis. at100 F. polymer. resulted in a-yield of 48% or oil boiling above 450 F.with steam, which is about 50% greater yield than the 32% yield obtainedwith the normal heptane inert diluent. Also the reactive diluentproduced an oil having slightly higher viscosity (92 seconds at 210 F,compared to hr the inert diluent).

It is believedthat a number of diflerent reactions are involved inthemechanism of the present invention and that these reactions cannot besummed up in any simple chemical equation .in-

volving merely the polymerization of isobutylene ing of a reactivehydrocarbon liquid diluent such as the light isobutylene polymer oilreferred to 3 hmn's at Eject of isobutylene feed rate and reaction timeTABLI II on-yield, viscosity and V. I.

Cracking eflect of BF; on light isobutylene" V 1 Oil boiling 8333:0450F. with a Ifobutylene' Tl I niectedme, r time en -"2a are v. ,2.- F

c en een s. to? F- .onisobusecs. Saybolt I tylene vis./ r...

- 11.0 1 as 43 so B 111.2 1 184 45 72 Percent overhead g i 2g g 2g 10.8-6- 124 ea 10 13.8 a 2a (9a) 16'. 'zao $1 1 3 1 12 g 318 soc 3Temperature in above runs 3H0 I". 395 m The above Table III shows thatwith low isoabove, namely, having a Sayboltviscosity of 63 seconds at100 F. In these tests a sample ofthe untreated oil is compared with asample or the same 011 after treatment with boron fluoride materials,rate of feed, etc. It is believed that stitue'nts 01' the reactiveliquid hydrocarbon diluent to slightly higher boiling constituents butnot high enough to produce the desired lubricating oils, e. g.polymerization of di-isobutylene to tetra-isobutylene;

3. Co-polymerization isobutylene;

4. Co-polymeriz'atioh of isobutylene with tetraisobutylene; v

5. Cracking of some'of the constituents of the reactive hydrocarbonliquid diluent; and

6. Cracking and/or polymerization of at least some or the products ofthat cracking.

of isobutylene with. di-

The data given in the following Table III show' how the yield, theviscosity at 210 F., and the viscosity index vary with the feed rate ofisobutylene and the reaction time. These tests were all carried out at35-40 F., using boron fluoride as catalyst dissolved in the lightisobutylene polymeroil having a Saybolt viscosity-o1 63 seconds at 100F. as the reactive diluent. 1

Test: III

The above table shows'that when the light polymer oil is treated with.boron fluoride at 40 R, a substantial cracking occurs as indicated bythe i'act that the initial boiling P int of the unwith increasingisobutylene feed rate (note the yields-in tests 5, 8, 'l and}, forexample). It

is also apparent that the viscosity at 210 1'. increases (irom 43 to 77in tests 5 and 8) in direct proportion to the isobutylene feed rate. Onthe other hand, the V. I. (viscosity index) varies from about -80 inthese tests', the exact value apparently being dependent upon the timeas well as the isobutylene feed rate, the highest V. I. values beingobtained in tests 6 and 7 when the reaction time was one hour and intests 9 and 10 when the reaction time was six hours.

The following Table IV gives the data from different tests in which thetotal amount 0! isobutylene added during each or the tests wasequivalent, although the rate of addition was varied. These tests wereall made under the same general conditions as those in Table III, two ofthem, namely tests 8 and 9, being the same data as that shown in TableIII.

. not vary greatly (only from 77-66) between yield batch experimentsareshown in Table V in'which approximately V4 part by weight ofrefractionated isobutylene was passed into one part by weight ofreactive diluent containing suspended aluminum chloride for three hours.

Tun: V Tests using aluminum chloride as catalyst T t Reactive diluentlsobutyl Time Temp No. wt one (gms.) hours" F. on theisovim/21ml" Kind(gms.) butylene 10...-. Di-isobutylene 1000 27s a 00 110 00.0 13 i7 ccnisobutyiene polymer 1000 287 3 20 123 v 50.8 62

=TABLE IV Efiect of isobutylene feed rate and time when same totalamount of isobutylene is used Oil boiling above 450 F. with steamIsobutylene Test rate mlloogm. Time, No. diluent/hr. hours Yield,percent based Via/210 F. v I on isobuty- Saybolt secs.

lane

Temperature in above runs 36-40 F.

In test 16 the temperature was 60 F. and the diluent was di-isobutylene.

In test 17 the temperature was 20 F. and the diluent wastetra-isobutylene (Cm-C20 polymer), containing about ,5 part of aluminumchloride suspended therein. The high yields, 119 and 123%, (based on theisobutylene used) are an indication of a large amount ofco-polymerization and/or condensation.

The following Table VI shows the operating conditions used and resultsobtained in some TABLE VI Tests in continuous recycling apparatusRatioiso- 6 Tm Circulation Isobutylene butylene gfffg Limghtrojggz gYield based No Temp. rate. liters] feed rate (cod rateto product Via/210F. 0y eaddod isobutylene onisobutylhr. (gm./hr.) circulation stream (gm.1 one; percent 1'8 OF r .18 1o 42 1000 24 7.7 4a 3200 3.2 a2

10.... 10 42 2000 48 as 53' 0400 3.2 41 20... so 140 1325 0.5 14.7 01 I4000 3.2 02 21... so 10 663 0.0 14.2 07 2030 2.2 00 40 14.0 000 4.1 0.566 21:10 4.2 40 2a.... '40 70 000 0.0 12.1 30 2730 4.2 04 24.... 0 42000 15.4 v 14.2 1m 2130 42 75 of isobutylene per gms. of diluent perhour) the V. I. remains substantially the same (between 7346) and theviscosity at 210 F. does In the above Table VIthe circulation rate meansthe rate' at which the fluid is pumped through at line 5 and the coolingcoil 6 in Figure 2. The per cent oil in stream refers to the per cent ofoil recovered irom the washed oily product coming from line 39. Theviscosity at a 1 tests using the continuous recycling processillustrated in, Figure 2 of the drawings. 0

. 210- F. refers to the oil in the previous column in the table. Therecycle added is the amount of light distillate which is recycled intothe diluent feed line 2 in Figure 2 of the drawings. This recyclerepresents dimer and other low molecular weight polymers of isobutylenewhich come off by the steam distillation referred to from the productobtainedin line 3.9. k

- From the above Table it is noted that as the temperature is decreasedfrom 70 to 40, the yield is progressively increased. Also, it is noted,particularly comparing tests 22, 23 and 24, that the yield and'viscosityat 210 F. are both increased as the circulation rate is decreased, theamount of isobutylene and recycle being both constant.

For the sake of calling attention to the fact TABLE VII Study of heavybottoms from tests 18 and 22 Tw Bottoms Vis./lF. Vis./210'F.

30% bottoms (525 F.

33 o bottoms (530 F.

The rcentages oi bottoms shown are based on the total amount of oil is tafter steam distiliationat 450 F. A

Although the lower boiling constituents of both oils hadapproximatelythe same viscosity (because both oils were free fromlighter constituents) by steam distillation at 450 F., yet the bottomsobtainedjfrom test 18 had a Saybolt viscosity of only 157 secondscompared to 269 seconds at 210 F. 'for the bottoms obtained in test 22.Therefore, inasmuch as in practice oil having a 210 F. viscosity lessthan 40 seconds would be removed, then the viscosity spread of thelubricating oil produced in test 18 would be 117 (157 minus 40) whereasthe corresponding lubricating oil from test 22 would 'have a viscosityspread of 229 (269 minus 40).

The 33% bottoms obtained in test 22 shown above as having aviscosity of269 seconds at 210 F. had an average molecular weight of 691 whereas afraction having a viscosity of about 40 seconds at 210 F. has a.molecular weight of about 330 to 350. I

By successive batch precipitations of the high molecular weightfractions from polymer oil bottoms with benzol-acetone mixtures, or byprov pane precipitation, fairly good yields of low visvia/210 F.bottoms, and 72% of 85 via/210 F.'

oil from a 134 .vis./210F. bottoms. Precipitation of 1.6% of heavy oilfrom the 134 via/210 F. bottoms lowered the viscosity to 118 via/210 F.

It is not intended that this invention be limited to any of the specificexamples given nor by any theories advanced as to the operation of theinvention, but only by the appended claims in which it is intended toclaim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as the prior artpermits.

We claim:

1. The process of preparing lubricating oils which comprises dispersinga Friedel-Crafts type catalyst in a liquid consisting of a reactivealiphatic hydrocarbon liquid diluent having 01efinic groups and lessthan 25 carbon atoms, and then contacting therewith a normally gaseousolefln at a temperature between the approximate limits of 0 and 150 F.

2. The process of preparing lubricating oils comprising dispersing aFriedel crafts type .catalystin an isobutylene polymer comprising 2 to 6monomers, and then feeding thereinto isobutylene at a temperaturebetween the approximate limits of 0 and 150 F.

- 3. The process of preparing lubricating oils which comprisesdissolving boronfluoride in an isobutylene polymer serving as reactivecatalyst solvent having from 8 to 24 carbon atoms and .then feedingisobutylene into the resulting solution at a temperature between theapproximate limits of and F.

4. The process according to claim 3 in which between about and 10 partsby weight of isobutylene are used to one partof the isobutylene polymerfeed.

5. The process according to claim 3 in which lower boiling constituentsare separated from the which comprises dissolving boron fluoride into acracked wax liquid substantially free of aromatic hydrocarbons havingabout 10 to 24 carbon atoms per molecule and then feeding isobutyleneinto the resulting solution at a temperature between the approximatelimits of 0 and F.

8. A hydrocarbon lubricating oil having it Saybolt viscosity above 40seconds. at 210' F. and a viscosity index above 30 obtained bydispersing a Friedel-Crafts type catalyst in a liquid consisting of areactive aliphatic hydrocarbon diluent having oleflnic groups and lessthan 25 tween the approximate limits of 0 F. and 150 F.

JAMES M. WHITELE'Y, JR. JEFFREY H. BARTLETT.

